Diary of a model

Lily spends her days as a model, rushing from shoot to show and on to yet another casting. On Amayzine, she tells you all about what her life is really like. Under a different name, of course, but that means she can share all the juicy details. This week: this is the ultimate, secret model diet.

Ha, got you with the title, huh? Let me help you out of your dream right away: the ultimate diet does not exist. Unfortunately, everyone is different, and as much as I would like to, I still don't know what exactly works for me. Of course, I have a rough idea of what I'm doing, but I'm human, and the beautiful thing about people is that we are constantly changing. And I'm not just talking about the monthly hormonal fluctuations that every woman has.

In the years that I've been doing modeling work, I've tried various diets, and after four years, I've realized that it ultimately all comes down to finding a certain balance. The theory that the less you eat, the thinner you become is, for me, bullshit. Admittedly, in the beginning, it works because your body becomes increasingly emptier, but eventually, it all comes back when you start eating normally again. Your body goes into a sort of survival mode and holds onto everything that comes in. Moreover, it's very stressful to constantly think about what you can and cannot shove into your mouth. If there's anything that makes you gain weight, it's stress.

I honestly admit that I've definitely done these kinds of crash diets as a ‘quick fix’ for things like Fashion Week or an important shoot coming up. If I have a bikini shoot planned in a week, I'm not averse to a three-day juice cleanse and some extra gym sessions. Still, I try to do these kinds of things as little as possible. So what do I do instead? Let me tell you (that rhymes).

First of all, I eat as much as possible. Huh, what? Yup! I see my body and digestion as a kind of campfire and the food as wood. The more wood you throw on the fire, the harder it starts to burn (read: higher metabolism). Of course, it matters what kind of wood you throw on the fire. My wood mainly consists of a combination of lots of vegetables, proteins, good fats, and a bit of carbohydrates here and there. You'd be surprised at how much I can eat. Because I'm used to eating a lot, I also burn my food very quickly. I'll give you an example of the composition of such a salad. Take a bag of lettuce, a zucchini, a bell pepper, half an eggplant, two tomatoes, half a cucumber, some goat cheese, four tablespoons of lentils, and apple cider vinegar. I stir-fry the vegetables in a pan with olive oil, chop the rest, mix it all together, and voilà, salad à la Lily. After that, my campfire is fed again, and the flames shoot up into the air.

It's no coincidence that my parents always make an extra trip to the supermarket when I come home to eat (thanks, dad and mom, loyal followers of this diary). Loads of vegetables are brought into the house because a hungry Lily is a grumpy Lily. And that brings me to the second point of today: I make sure that I am never hungry. Not only am I a lot less pleasant (read: hangry), but hunger also causes an insulin dip. Sugar causes a high insulin spike, and the more intense and rapid these spikes and dips are, the more fat you will store. So I always try to ensure that my inner graph doesn't swing too hard back and forth. Food with a low glycemic index provides a slow release of glucose and thus a low, stretched insulin spike. I'm not a doctor and won't (be able to) explain how it all works, but just look up glycemic index and read some of the endless articles that have already been written about it.

Finally, it's important to allow yourself your cheat moments. In the past, I sometimes found this difficult and even had moments where I thought a banana contained too much sugar. But nowadays, I'm much kinder to myself. Chocolate for dessert? Don’t mind if I do. A night out drinking with friends? Hell yeah! Cheat moments can easily turn into cheat weeks, but I balance them out with a healthy week. This way, I dance like a little model on a balance beam. And believe me: I fall off quite often, but luckily I also know how to climb back on.

xx Kisses from Lily